Rock 'N Soul

“Rock ‘n Soul” by Solomon Burke (1964) This guy has a great voice. Excellent control and timbre across his considerable range. Better rock than Elvis; better soul than James Brown. As an album, however, it lacks variety and has a rather monotonous arrangement of backing vocals and instrumentals. A good album, for its historical value if nothing else. 3/5

From purely a listening standpoint this album is a real joy. Burke's voice is clear, articulate, and soulful. If you're a fan of R&B or soul this album is probably already at the top of your list. Adding in the historical context, that Burke was one of the founding fathers of soul, makes this album even more impressive as you realize that he was forging a new sound.

Wow what a voice, smooth and silky one minute, rough and ready the next. I loved the punchy mono sound (would love to listen to this on vinyl). The songs are simple and the backing is fairly sparse yet full sounding; the typical 'dry' Atlantic sound, which I love. Back in their copycat days the Rolling Stones covered two tracks from this album (Cry to Me and If You Need Me) so you can see how influential it was. It's a bit old fashioned sounding, but who gives a damn when it sounds this good. Not much to fault, so it's easily a 5 star for me.

Proper good. An unexpected treat. Will be listening again. We like the part where the songs happen.

Hooray! Some soul! I didn't think I knew this guy but once it started I recognized Cry to Me from that one scene in Dirty Dancing. You know the one. I also know He'll Have to Go but I'm thinking that maybe I really just know the first line, "Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone," from a TV ad for one of those compilation records in the 70s. (And maybe not this version. Maybe Elvis?) I really like this! Sexy, bluesy, lots of yearning. So glad to be introduced to it.

Rock’n’Soul Easily one of the greatest soul voices, emotionally powerful with such lovely timbre, excellent control and superb range, from mellow and tender to rough and gritty. However this album suffers from the way albums were regarded in the early to mid sixties as a vehicle for singles plus any other stuff lying around. Consequently this is a bit all over the shop and doesn’t really feel like an album, although I can understand why it’s on the list, from a historical perspective and to acknowledge his skill as a singer. I’m not really that au fait with his full discography but it doesn’t feel like there is a definitive Solomon Burke album or period, in the way Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin had, but I know he did some great covers in the late 60s, and that Don’t Give Up On Me album from a few years back is well worth a listen if you don’t already know it. Not all of it, but much of the album does feel very rooted in its early 60s time period with songs dating back to 1961. You can hear the legacy of big band R’n’B in the arrangements and overall sound, particularly the slightly flat drum sound, the guitar and the saxophone heavy horns. Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye) is a good example of this, his voice is obviously great, but it really lacks punch. As a fan of Dirty Dancing I’ve always loved Cry to Me though, and it is a great song - it definitely stands out. For 1962 the piano motif feels ahead of its time, really giving the whole song a sense of dramatic tension. Won’t You Give Him One More Chance has slight Hawaiian vibes to me, and feels like a song from an Elvis movie or something. Great vocal of course but the song is pretty flimsy. If You Need Me’s bluesiness is a better vehicle for his voice, but it suffers from the production, overall sound and slightly anaemic sounding band. I like country vibes of Hard, Ain’t it Hard, which make sense as it's a Woody Guthrie song, and his vocal really is very lovely, but the backing vocals feel overly intrusive and the acoustic guitar in the left channel seems way too loud and high in the mix. Can’t Nobody Love You is good, another superb vocal, particularly when he lets loose from around 1.40 onwards. But again the production vaguely lets it down, although the horns are nicely restrained. He goes enjoyably full crooner on Just Out of my Reach (Of my Two Empty Arms), showing how versatile he is, and what a supercharged Dean Martin might sound like. You’re Good For Me follows a similar pattern, great great vocal but a largely uninspiring production and arrangement, although the guitar is pretty nice. The wonkiness of the recording of You Can’t Love Em All does jump out and the song itself is another of those slightly Elvis movie sounding songs, with mariachi horns this time. Someone to Love Me is great though, the guitar is very good and backing vocals, for the most part, are very sympathetic to his voice and sit nicely within the arrangement. The soulful in a bar at 3am sound is great, one of the few times on the album where the song and recording come up to meet the quality of his voice. Beautiful Brown Eyes continues that feel, although perhaps slightly less successfully than Someone to Love Me, the slightly flatulent sax being a bit distracting. I like He’ll Have To Go, the strings giving it a sense of harmonic range not that evident on the rest of the album, although the farty sax continues to make some more unwelcome contributions. I suppose it’s not really fair to judge this as a soul album against the classic soul sound of the mid 60s onwards, as that hadn’t been invented yet, and it’s tricky to judge it as an album in general, as these are all disparate recordings from a period of 3 or so years, never meant to be an album. Despite that you can’t help but yearn for a bit of the joyous playing of the Funk Brothers at Motown or the gritty southern soul sound of Booker T et al at Stax and for it to be a more considered collection of songs. I had a cursory listen to the two late 60s albums that are on Tidal and they do have more of that classic soul sound, which really suits his voice, but I think his popularity had waned a bit by then and it looks like he decided to go back to Gospel and God. Ultimately his voice is superb, and I don’t really mind what he sings as he sounds great, but musically this is way below someone of his quality - not because it’s poor, it’s just a reflection of the time it was recorded. I think a 3 is fair, musically and as an album it’s not re-listenable enough to be a 4, but he’s too good a singer for it to be a 2. 🪨🪨🪨 Playlist submission: Cry to Me

I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Solomon Burke because of his cover of Van Morrison’s “Fast Train” that was used in the season 3 finale of The Wire. It’s a wonderful song and, dare I say, better than the original. The rest of his catalog, I’m not super familiar with. Rock ‘N Soul was enjoyable, but as I’ve said in other reviews, early 1960’s music doesn’t really connect with me. It’s often like taking a trip to a forgotten era, one that’s kind of familiar, but also completely foreign. Having been released in 1964, this record is closer to the familiar than to completely foreign, but, it feels…old. Like if you could listen to music in black and white. …and there’s some to charm to that. One of my favorite movies of all time is Dr. Strangelove: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, but there aren’t many other black and white films I truly love. So when it comes to music, it’s not something I can go back to over and over. This is reflection on me, not the music. Solomon Burke is a great singer, the songs are well written and performed. There’s no good reason for me not to like this. …there’s just something in my brain that isn’t receptive to the late 50’s/early 60’s sound. I can’t explain it otherwise.

Solomon Burke is a perfectly fine soul singer, but on Rock 'n Soul, he's sabotaged by one of the sickening cliches of early 60s arranging, the "Ray Conniff Singers" style vocal arrangements. Another problem, which affects roughly a third of the songs, is the then fashionable tendency to fuse soul and country music. Ray Charles has a lot to answer for in this regard. In general, I'm no purist, but fusing soul and country isn't like peanut butter and chocolate, it's more like mustard and chocolate. Poor Solomon does his best, but he never had a chance.

What a lovely voice. Unfortunately I’ve decided I will drop at least one point for instances of “little girl” or anything creepier in a romantic song

Another artist I’ve never heard of before. First things first, this guys voice is absolutely incredible. It’s just unbelievably smooth. The backup vocalists? Also incredible. My biggest problem with this album as a whole is simply that nothing stands out, and it’s very similar the entire way through. That isn’t a big problem, I just don’t particularly love it enough to give it anything past a 3. Objectively this guy is a fantastic singer, and I can easily appreciate that. Personal enjoyment though, it’s just ok. Would I listen to it again? No, but that’s also ok. Not really my thing, but I’m very glad I listened to it in general. Favorite song? I also have no idea. Let’s go with “You’re Good for Me.”

Really enjoyed this album, bluesy soul with great guitar licks and vocals

This was a great listen, and one I’ve never listened to before. I’m sure I’ve heard some songs of Burke’s, but definitely not an entire album. Really happy I got a chance to listen to one of the pioneers of R&B and soul. This album is a must listen for fans of the genre.

I love soup and I enjoyed listening to this.

This was an incredible album. No notes.

Who knew? Solid songwriting for the era. Hidden gem lost in the shadow of other Atlantic Stax superstars. He should have been bigger.

I consider myself pretty steeped in Blues, Soul, and R&B, and I have some exposure to Solomon Burke, mainly through his hits. The tragedy is that early 60s soul stuff was really formulaic like on, "Won't You Give...", "Just Out Of Reach...", & "You Can't Love Them All". On this album Solomon's vocals pull most of those out of mediocrity, but the arrangements are just 'stock' and really boring for it. His voice and range really shine on "Goodbye Baby", "Cry to Me", & "If You Need Me"(written by and released earlier by Wilson Pickett who just edges out Solomon IMO for this song, but only barely) where the arrangements are a little off-sides and open up for his singing. All-in-all this album missed my '5' criteria. The formula stuff just kills it's chances for greatness. (4/5) There's plenty to like on here, and Solomon is so good, but he was clearly underutilized by his label and outshined by some of his contemporaries like Pickett, Cooke, and Redding. This album is an example of and a testament to that.

Solomon seamlessly intertwines gritty and luxury on this record. He gives it his all, yet it feels effortless.

While this album is extremely dated (a time capsule that harkens to an era a decade or more prior to its release, even), Solomon's voice is right up there with the Otis Redding and Percy Sledge. But the arrangement and production have a monotonous tendency to sound like so many albums of that era, and give it a muffled effect that takes away from his soulful crooning. I'm left with a higher regard for Solomon than I have for the album itself, and while it was no doubt a standout for its time, it's retrospectively lackluster. It's still a 3/5, though, and was worth the listen.

Outstanding album. I can not overstate how much I enjoy this style of old rock and roll. This guy's voice is top notch. Just outstanding.

Absolutely enthralling music. Dense creations that reach into the mind. S full pleasure to listen to

beautiful

music is love

Perfect. Good length. Timeless energy.

Really fantastic. Of course reminds me of Sam Cooke who I have spent so much more time with. Not just the superficial stylistic similarities but something deep. They both also have that gospel break/distortion in their voice as they express themselves. This is is real art in its own right though, not just because it's a bit like a hero. It feels like it flows as a record better than some albums from this time.

Great late 50’s - early 60’s rock and soul album that has lots of smooth crooning. Solomon’s voice here reminds me a lot of some of the doo wop groups of that time frame. I would definitely recommend this album for anyone interested in feel good music

Absolutely, yes. 5 stars. I couldn't get enough of this one.

This and a coffee on the porch on a nice fall morning would end wars

Increíble. Cry to me es de mis canciones favoritas, pero encontré aquí un montón a las que voy a estar regresando muchas veces. Genial disco.

Great voice

Pretty good early rock n roll album. My favorite track was Cry to Me.

I didn't think I was gonna like this album based on "Soul" being in the title, but this isn't run-of-the-mill Goodfellas background music. There's some very interesting musical interpretations of rock and/or soul here, including some fairly intricate accoustic guitars. And of course, his voice is great.

gas no skips

That voice!

Yeah, this is a beautiful album. A relaxing listen with high quality music. Solomon Burke has a voice that sounds equivalent to someone you love giving you a hug. The only fault, but it's nitpicking' is that sometimes you feel like there isn't much variety between songs. Still it's a great listen. 4/5

I do not understand why Solomon Burke isn't as known and revered as Otis Redding or Wilson Pickett. He released a tonne of records on Atlantic that charted (in the US at least). He has a fantastic preacher's soul voice, and benefited from excellent production values. Jerry Wexler is clearly working from the Ray Charles playbook with his classy production on this album. Solomon Burke has, I think, always been around in the background. A cover of Everybody Needs Someone to Love features prominently in the Blue Brothers movie. Nick Hornby waxes lyrically about Got To Get You Off My Mind in High Fidelity (it's the song that is the meet-cute between Rob and Laura). I came across a random selection of his numerous singles on compilations, including a handful of tracks on the (excellent) Atlantic Rhythm & Blues series. but the track that really caught my ear is Home in your Heart, which appeared on a Mojo cover CD called Raw Soul. Since then, I've gone out of my way to pick up Solomon Burke singles when I see them. He was a terrific singles act for best part of 20 years. I know a few of the songs here (Cry To Me most notably) but hadn't heard the whole record before. Unusually for its vintage, this is a really strong album with really great production, six songs that charted as singles, and very little filler. I recognized a few of the songs, and enjoyed them all. You Can't Love 'Em All made me chuckle; I honestly believe that Solomon tried to love 'em all, despite the odds. I totally enjoyed this album all the way through, and can't understand why it isn't as famous or esteemed as Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul. In a perfect world, this would be a universally acclaimed five star classic. This really is a truly great early 60s soul album. But given the number of grade-A singles he released, a Best Of compilation is probably the real must-hear record for Solomon.

What a pleasant way to start the week! I will say that other than the transcendent Cry to Me and a handful of others, the rest of the songs were good not great. But overall very enjoyable.

This is the kind of album you can take off the shelf and sit and listen to all by yourself. Today's music ain't got the same soul. I like that old time... something something.

Chef's kiss of '6os soul.

Great sounds but got a little monotonous toward the end.

Song: Cry To Me Burke has a great voice, rich and passionate, and I liked it on this song. Also, I found the lyrics really sweet and touching, and the song had a really raw vibe that I liked as well. However, the rest of the song was nothing terribly special—I liked it well enough, but nothing stood out. The instrumental felt quintessentially 60s, and I wasn't a huge fan of the background choir. Still, it made me feel nostalgic, and I did enjoy the song—just not as much as others I've listened to.

I'm really digging a lot of the stuff on this list from the 50's. I could play this stuff all day in the house. Soothing, classic sounds can permeate these walls anytime.

I can forget that this style made it deeply into the 60s, and heavily influenced what followed in pop. Always down for this kind of thing.

Honestly a really solid soul album, great for the morning.

Solomon Burke was an obviously talented singer and performer, and this album has some very good songs on it. I think that the arrangements of some of the songs are less than ideal, especially those cheesy backup singers that do their best to ruin a bunch of Ray Charles’s songs. But when it’s straight ahead soul/R&B, and when Latin influences are mixed in, this album is enjoyable and fun. However, I think there is a reason that Burke - while he may have been amongst the first - is not considered to be one of the first tier soul and R&B artists. Still a 60’s soul and R&B second stringer is better than the entire starting lineup of a most other genres.

Motown sound. Burke has a powerful voice, and some of the songs really showcase how emotive he can be. There’s definitely some late 50’s/early 60’s garbage pop songs here too. The notables are Cry To Me, Goodbye Baby, If You Need Me, Someone To Love Me, He’ll Have To Go.

Sonically, this is good soul. I'm always down for that kind of throwback sound and glad when we get it. Burke is clearly good at it and knows how to master his instrument to make it do what he wants it do, so good for him! That said, it does suffer from some of the lyrical tropes of the genre and time. These may be at odds with Burke's personal ethos (he was married to the same woman without cheating for 40 years during which he released this album - and he came of retirement to release an anniversary album for her). But at the same time, these are not great tropes and I'm docking a star for it.

this was a really warm album, but it also didn't register much for me. i mostly remember feeling comfy so I'll give it a 3

Great voice, incredible range. Otherwise not that interesting

Not much for the genre but it’s an ok listen. Probably was the first time I’ve listened to Solomon Burke and could be the last - not something id go searching for.

A lovely soul album.

One classic song and the rest kind of average but still fun to listen to.

These cover-saturated singer-showcase albums are a wrestle between A&R conservatism and the juice and individualism of the players. Burke’s throttle control is marvellous, a different voice for every task - he could whisper a yell or mutter a wail - and some of the instrumentation brings my ears to their feet, the spidery guitar on “Won’t You Give Him (One More Chance)” deserves credit that the notes don’t give them. However, the songs themselves are unremarkable. A close listen to the makers has its rewards, but the content doesn’t excite me.

Lots of belters, not quite as many bangers. great sound though!

perfectly serviceable oldies that i am surprised i had not heard of. a squirrel listened with me and so that was cool i guess

Wikipedia says this had seven top-100 hits. I had never heard of the artist and was unfamiliar with the songs as well. But I thought it was perfectly pleasant. “if you need me” and “you’re good for me” were two favorites.

Ehhh. Okej je al ne bi izdvojio nista posebno sem par pesme. Okej prvi listen skroz al ne bih dalje slušao

Best Song: Cry to Me. Bombastic, with an impressive vocal performance. Worst Song: You Can't Love 'Em All. The choir is just shouting. At this point in the album, I've also grown very tired of the "lovey-dovey" subject matter. There are other topics. Overall: The vocals really stand out here, even if a lot of the songwriting shows its age. If he had sung about more interesting things, I think I would have liked this album a lot more.

Solomon himself has a nice voice but I'm not crazy about the backing vocalists and they are featured heavily throughout.

great sound although upon first listening you may not guess it is a 60's album but a 50's. alt least that was my impression.

This one might just not be for me. Quite a lackluster album to contain seven Top 100 Billboard hits Solomon Burke's "Rock 'N Soul" sounds like a paint-by-numbers production of a 60's soul record. Burke dutifully croons on sorrow, regret, and missed love. It gets the job done. It even peppers in a a bit of gospel, upbeat, jazz, and Latin. Maybe some will appreciate the subtlety in this approach. I, however, don't see myself returning to this album ever. Track Highlights Hard, Ain't it Hard

There’s a sweetness to Solomon Burke. It’s a sweetness that binds the soul and soft rock together like honey in a sandwich; an oddly antiquated kind of sincerity that pushes this record even further back in time than it actually originated from. It feels, at times, as if the attitudes, customs and ways of seeing in here come from another epoch entirely – one I struggle to fully subscribe to. That said, the timelessness of a melody like the lead vocal in “Cry to Me” is entirely beyond debate. It’s a temporal concertina – the listening equivalent of that shot in Jaws where the background recedes to the point of vanishing and all that’s left is a startled, near-horrified face. The classics will live forever. The rest of it, though, might have well and truly already had its day.

Favorite tracks: Cry To Me, Won't You Give Him (One More Chance) This album was enjoyable, but the songs all centered around the same themes and sounded too similar for anything to stand out very much. Also, I would have thought this was from the 50s rather than the 60s - it feels a bit dated for that time. Not a bad album, but I'm surprised it made this list. Side note: taken as a whole, lyrically this album is such a red flag 😂 let the girl go, my dude

The guy can sing, but the music is mediocre and uninspired. In addition, some of the lyrics I managed to catch aged like a lecherous old man. Overall this album is nothing memorable, just a good singer making mediocre music with an annoyingly repetitive back-choir. It's a nice one-off listen, nothing more.

Some of these older albums that are selected are the "sound old but also sound modern" variety ... not this one, this old. We once again see the resurrection of "little girl" (*pukingemoji*). Also You Can't Love 'Em All is both problematic and wrong - of course you can when they all got the eyes for you like he says. 2/5

If you want to go dancing, this is probably exactly what you need. I don't want to go dancing.

lovely soulful voice , but bit lacking in variety across a whole album .

Surprised to see this was a mid 60s record. In terms of interesting sound, this was pretty far behind. Solomon has a cool and talented singing voice, but these songs are boring. The album drags almost from the very beginning. Disappointing.

das ist schlager für amis

Es gibt hier so einen Sender, Bayern 1, da werden den ganzen Tag alte Lieder gespielt. Da kann ich mir das gut vorstellen als ein Album was sich perfekt in den langweiligen Hintergrund einfügt.

This is basically an Elvis album. I can see how this is a bridge into R&B but I'm just bored

I did not realize how much of 60's music was made up of covers, but it still sounds so good nonetheless.

Me gusta

beautiful and classic

Great, gentle, beautiful

HECK YEAH THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!! incredibly good stuff. Bluesy goodness. 9/10

Very good amazing

Really enjoyable! Want to find this on vinyl.

What a treat 🥰

No puedo creer que voy a hacer esto (yo tenía las 5 estrellas reservadas para Joni Mitchell), pero honestamente no encuentro nada que criticar al álbum. La pasé muy bien escuchándolo y eso que ni siquiera es algo que escucharía comúnmente. Me encantó la reiteración de la palabra "love" a lo largo del álbum. Y aunque alguna que otra letra es cuestionable o puede ser acusada de simplista, son naturalmente divertidas e identificables. Además la voz de él y sus vocalistas es increíble.

Every song was sensational, his voice is emotive and the swing on each track was perfect. I feel like I need to be nursing an old fashioned in the kitchen while my husband is having an affair.

excelente, me encantó

Hell yeah, that’s what we’re here for. Outshadowed by his contemporaries, Burke is a stone cold classic.

Best album I’ve never heard so far by a country mile

This was a very soothing album. I listened to it while putting my laundry away. I enjoy Solomon's voice quite a bit. The instrumentals were very pleasant to listen to as well.

Solomon Burke – Rock 'N Soul (1964) For the record, I gotta hand it to Dimery, he does know albums I would regret dying with hearing and this is one of them. smoove soul and rock what can go wrong, a really good ol' easy listening that hits hard with wine you can't go wrong here. Cry to Me, Just Out of Reach, Goodbye Baby, If You Need Me, Can't Nobody Love You, Someone to Love Me and You Can't Love'Em All, was decent really great album to have the heartbreak on, serenade somebody with like it has it all. a 5 right

Lowkey transcendent.

Absolutely stunning.

Loved every second!

I'm finding myself really drawn to the soul albums in this collection. This is another one that was easy to listen to and I enjoyed every minute.

Me encantó

Un placer escuchar esta obra de arte

Why is it that the back of the hall sound sometimes shits me sometimes fits perfectly into my ears? Dont know this album or the artist. First track is great. Similar thoughts as i had 2 albums back with Highway to Hell. Totally different genre but similar in terms of stripped back to basics backing band just nailing what they do. Have mentioned this on other soul/r&b albums - thank fuck there is no over singing. You can feel the soul. For someone like me who can barely play a note, struggles to make my fingers do the basica om any instrument (let alone my anti-tune voice) i admire anyone that can get this much feeling into their songs and equally admire the band that can play backing to let that shine. I’m also a sucker for the guitar sound of this era. I dont know but suspect these are largely studio musos. Covers and standards played. Makes sense.

Two of the best music genres!

Just a fun album and I love Solomon Burke’s voice

Finally, some decent fucking music.

Love this album

Great guy, much soul and fun.

Yeah of course I like this it's soul rock this is so good. Oh yeah this is so good. This is definitely it. Really rocking with this. His voice is so good.its very dynamic, I'm really enjoying this. And it's short thank god. I love good short albums. Favourite: Cry to Me Least favourite: Won't You Give Him (One More Chance)

great stuff

Hell yeah! R&R R&B at it's best !